Fund British Waterways urges government to stop dithering

Fund Britain’s Waterways (FBW) is lamenting the recent UK budget, which made no mention of public investment to safeguard Britain’s inland waterways, despite much talk by the government about rebuilding the country through increased public investment.

FBW, a coalition of organisations representing hundreds of thousands of users and supporters of inland waterways, says it made strong representations to the treasury that highlighted the widely acknowledged benefits (including many economic activities) that Britain’s rivers and canals provide.

“The minimum that FBW is asking for is that the new Labour government commit to reviewing future funding for all inland waterways,” Les Etheridge, chair of FBW, tells MIN. “This includes the specific funding planned for the Canal & River Trust from 2027 as announced by the previous government, as it is simply insufficient.”

The increasing fragility of the 250-year-old infrastructure, combined with ever more frequent episodes of extreme weather, means there is now an urgent need to invest to save the network.

“The government must intervene to help reverse the current deterioration of Britain’s inland waterways, which is increasingly impacting businesses up and down the country,” says Etheridge. “Unless funding arrangements are reviewed and improved, we fear that Britain’s inland waterways and the many benefits they provide will be in serious jeopardy.”

FBW recognises that the impact and cost of covid and the war in Ukraine have left the country’s financial position in a poor state. While health, education and security are obvious and important areas in need of funding and cost many billions of pounds to fund, the inland waterways would cost a small (in government terms) investment measured in millions, not billions, of pounds.

While underinvestment continues, the tipping point when waterways will be forced to close comes closer. And if that happens? It’ll directly hit jobs and wider tourism, and waste millions of volunteer hours as well as the millions of pounds of public money that has been dedicated to regenerating inland waterways in the past.

FBW says that all the main navigation authorities openly admit they have insufficient funding to deal with all the growing infrastructure challenges. There are long periods of time when sections of the network are closed for extensive repairs. Other sections become unreliable due to more frequent and unpredictable closures caused by failing infrastructure.

The level of funding required to restore and retain Britain’s inland waterways is tiny in the overall terms of government spending, asserts FBW, and yet it is critical to avoid a more rapid deterioration of the network which would only further burden the public purse and jeopardise the many businesses and communities which rely on having safe and navigable waterways.

Moreover, further investment in Britain’s inland waterways aligns with the government’s growth mission as it would return billions of pounds in health, economic and environmental benefits.

Established in June 2023, FBW has more than 140 member organisations, including British Marine, the Inland Waterways Association, the National Association of Boat Owners, and the Royal Yachting Association.